AI-driven customer experience heralds future trends

The latest Customer Experience (CX) Trends Report by Zendesk, Inc. signifies that a new era of intelligent CX, driven by advances in artificial intelligence (AI), is dawning. The findings suggest that companies that effectively implement AI in their CX will potentially redefine the industry, providing personalised experiences at a large scale while reducing costs.

"We're on the verge of the most significant inflection point we've ever seen in CX with the latest advances in AI," noted Adrian McDermott, chief technology officer, Zendesk. He stressed that businesses need to holistically rethink their operations, from tech stacks to teams, and embrace intelligent CX strategy driven by AI to manage volume, cut costs, enhance quality, and ultimately boost customer satisfaction.

Besides indicative transformational trends, the report also highlights regional responsiveness to AI driven CX. According to Maureen Chong, regional vice president, Asia, Zendesk, businesses in Asia must invest in their CX and AI strategy to stay relevant in the face of economic challenges. She revealed that a noteworthy 71 percent of Asian consumers believe generative AI will wholly transform their interaction with companies in the next two years. "Businesses need to embrace transformative technologies like generative AI.. and make a commitment to ensure its ethical use," she advised.

In terms of generative AI adoption in CX, Singapore and India lead the way. Singaporean CX leaders report positive ROI with 84 percent of them already exploiting it in their customer journey, second only to India in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. From transitioning chatbots to advanced digital agents to enhancing live and immersive interactions and data privacy, CX leaders are scripting the narrative of intelligent CX.

Significantly, over two-thirds of APAC CX leaders believe that AI chatbots, which have evolved into capable digital agents, can forge stronger emotional bonds with customers by delivering tailored, accurate responses. The report also notes that 78 percent of consumers in APAC expect chatbots to match the expertise and quality of highly skilled human agents, with half of them expecting to interact with advanced bots for quick responses.

On the subject of immersive interactions, most surveyed consumers anticipate a complete transformation in their interaction with companies within two years. A growing acceptance of conversational commerce and live-streamed shopping sessions are being acknowledged by CX leaders, with 72 percent in APAC and 80 percent in Singapore partnering with external vendors to implement these changes.

CX leaders in APAC are also recognising their key role in data privacy. In fact, around 80 percent of them perceive themselves as accountable for customer data safety, with 82 percent viewing data protection and cybersecurity as top priorities in their customer service strategy.

The report concludes by stressing that leaders are planning for the future of CX by focusing on smart customer experiences. The role of new technology in crafting these experiences points towards an impactful year for CX in 2024.